Challenging military sexual assault: ‘One major step forward’

The Senate Armed Services Committee voted Wednesday to require that sexual assault victims in the military be given legal counsel, but turned down legislation that would strip commanders of legal power to oversee major criminal cases, including allegations of sex crimes.

“It is one major step forward. They (victims) will have dedicated legal counsel as they work through the process, and will know their rights,” Murray said in an interview. Ayotte, in an email, argued: “This is not something we’re going to pass today and forget about.”

The Pentagon recently reported that sexual assaults rose from 19,000 in 2010 to 26,000 in 2012. Just 3,158 of those cases were reported in 2010, and about 3,400 in 2012. Four out of every 10 women seeking medical care at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers in the Puget Sound region report that they were victims of sexual trauma.

Murray took testimony from two sexual assault victims, now out of the military, in Seattle during the recent Memorial Day recess.

A Washington Post-Pew Research poll, released Wednesday, showed that 51 percent of women and 37 percent of men believe sexual assault in the military is a problem extremely important to the country. But the public was evenly split on whether assault cases should be handled within the military’s chain of command or by outside legal counsel.

The Armed Services Committee, by a 17-9 vote, turned down a proposal by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to transfer oversight of sexual assault cases from commanders to uniformed prosecutors. The Joint Chiefs of Staff defended the chain of command and opposed the proposal.

“The chain of command has told us for decades they will solve this problem, and they have failed,” Gillibrand argued.

Murray has been working the issue for nearly two decades, since women members of the Senate challenged giving a fourth star to U.S. Navy Chief of Staff Frank Kelso. Kelso had attended the infamous Tailhook naval flyers convention in Las Vegas, but managed not to hear, hear of or see any of dozens of episodes of groping and assault directed at women. The bid to punish Kelso was voted down.

“The attitude is always, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it,'” she said.

Supporters of the Gillibrand proposal say they are not done. “It will be a floor vote (in the Senate),” Murray said.

Late on Tuesday, Gillibrand tweeted: “I’ll continue to fight to strengthen the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) by offering amendment on Senate floor. Our advocacy on this issue has just begun.”